On October 6^th, Rescue Dogs posted this on their Facebook page

Sometimes in rescue, the heartbreak becomes unbearable. Today is one of those days. We fell in love with this precious dog the second we laid eyes on her. It was a video taken at Fulton County Animal Services in Georgia. At the time, we had no idea she was pregnant. Once we found out Lily Rose was pregnant, we knew her situation was urgent. We reached out to our Maryland vet partner & of course they said they’d help! We knew LR was around 55 days along and we also learned she was heartworm positive & had demodex mange. We moved mountains using a private transport to get her to MD before her babies came.

Monday night, Lily’s temp dropped & she was heavily panting. We were sure the puppies were coming, but no. The X-rays showed they were close & moving a lot, but just weren’t moving to the birth canal. Her mucus plug came out & again we anxiously awaited the birth. Finally last night, her medical team said we have to induce labor, mama is uncomfortable & starting to moan some. This morning still no puppies!

The decision was made to do a C-section as time had run out. We could not wait any longer. We knew the risk with mama’s heartworm, but we had no choice. Something was wrong. When they got in, they discovered a large stillborn puppy was blocking the birth canal! No wonder no puppy could get out. At this same time of removing the puppies to safety, mama went into cardiac arrest & passed. The medical team tried desperately to get her back. They worked on her for a full 10 minutes. Such an emotional roller coaster knowing mom was gone & yet still trying to save her 8 living puppies!

Ugh, what a nightmare!! Lily Rose will be buried with her stillborn puppy & both were tearfully kissed goodbye.  We will never forget this happy, smiley girl, but all we can do to honor her now is to fight like heck to save her babies. We promise you Lily Rose, we will move mountains for them as we did for you!  RIP Lily Rose! We will ALWAYS love you & NEVER forget you.

Pocahontas, who had been at the Maryland vet when Lily Rose arrived, had given birth four weeks earlier, and her puppies were just starting to be weaned.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and she had no problem taking on a new brood.  You’d think that raising sixteen puppies would be too much for any dog, but once you’ve had eight, what’s another eight more?  All are healthy and thriving!

The post Rescue Dog Adopts Her Deceased Friend’s Newborn Puppies appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

With the new rules, restaurant owners will not have to ask someone with their dog for paperwork.  This was a major sticking point that required anyone who does bring a dog with them, must also paperwork on the dog’s health status (updated shots for example) and license status on paper with them.  Now, that’s no longer an issue.

Now, restaurant owners will simply have to post visible signs that inform people wishing to dine with their dogs, that this information is something that they are required to have with them.  However, there won’t be a checkpoint set up to check everyone’s dog out individually.

“I’m so pleased that the city Department of Health threw dog lovers a bone,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan).  She sponsored the law to allow dining with dogs.  “These proposed regulations are common sense measures designed to protect the public health while allowing New Yorkers to dine with their dogs.”

The health department is also satisfied with the new rules as well.  Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said, “[The new rules] ensure that restaurant patrons can bring their dogs to outdoor areas, while also keeping other diners protected.”

The other rules will not be changing.  Dogs are still to be kept in outdoor dining areas, and kept away from people walking by the restaurant with or without other pets, dogs are still not to come into contact with eating or table surface, and dogs still not become an obstruction for people moving in the dining area.  However, there won’t have to be specially build barriers and checkpoints to go from one place to another once inside.

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Remember Harley, the senior Dachshund lovingly left at a shelter in a basket with a note from his elderly owners who could no longer afford to care for him?  Rescue group Leave No Paws Behind took him in and found his family.  The dog, whose real name is Otto, will have expenses for the rest of his life paid for by the rescue, and will be reunited with his family at the end of this month.

Less than a week ago, the 13-year-old Dachshund was left wrapped in a blanket in a basket outside Baldwin Park Animal Shelter in California.  Attached to his basket was a heartbreaking letter:

“Our dog is 13½ years old.  He is sick starting yesterday with bloody stools, vomiting.  Had a skin disease for a few years.  We are both seniors, sick with no money.  We cannot pay for vet bills, or to put him to sleep.  He has never been away from us in all those years.  He cannot function without us.  Please put him to sleep.”

Instead of honoring the request to have him put to sleep, the shelter contacted Leave No Paws Behind, a non-profit, all-breed, all-foster rescue group that specializes in senior and terminally ill animals.  They took the dog in and called him Harley.  He was taken to a veterinarian, who determined that not only could he be treated, but that he likely has a couple more years of life left in him.

Because Harley seemed so loved and well-cared for, LNPB wanted to find his owners to see if something could be arranged.  Group founder and CEO Toby Wisneski reached out to the public, and his owners came forward after seeing their story on the news.

The couple, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained that they are both ill and cannot afford their own treatments or tires for their vehicle to get them help.  When their dog, whose full name is Otto Wolfgang Maximus, got sick, they were told by a vet that costly tests needed to be run.  They could not even afford to have him euthanized.  They were “hysterical,” and didn’t know what else to do except leave him at a shelter.

“My wife was in tears, as she left him, saying, ‘I am sorry, I am sorry,’” the man explained in a phone interview.  “We are retired, I am handicapped, and my wife is not well.  We live week to week, and can’t even afford our medical bills. We can’t even go to the dentist any more… we have no money.”

The rescue wanted to see Otto back where he belonged, and told the couple that they would return him, and pay for his food and healthcare for the rest of his life provided they could stop by for weekly visits.

“Ninety eight percent of the rescues we take in belong with us,” Toby said.  “There are 1-2 percent of owners who love their animals very much and just believe they have no other option but to surrender them.”

The couple lives outside of California and was on a ministry trip when they dropped Otto off.  They plan to pick him up at the end of the month or when they have enough money to purchase desperately needed tires for their vehicle.  LNPB is working to see that this problem is solved, too.

“We thought he was dead, but he lives,” the husband said. “He’s being well taken care of and, boy, we’re just so extremely grateful.”

LNPB is seeing more and more pets left in their care as owners’ failing health and finances leave them unable to care for their beloved pets.  Toby wants people to know that if they are good, loving owners, the rescue wants to help them so they are not forced to surrender their family members.  If you would like to donate to Leave No Paws Behind, please click here.

Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV

Update:

“We are thrilled to announce that Otto’s mommy and daddy will very soon be receiving a brand new set of tires! I want to thank all of the amazing human angels that offered to help them, you truly, on a day to day basis, continue to restore my faith in the goodness and kindness of human kind! We were contacted by someone in the “tire industry” who offered to help! We will of course announce Otto’s big reunion when we have the absolute pleasure of placing him back in their loving arms! Otto will have to remain in the hospital for another 10-12 days under treatment before he will be released into their foster care! Thank you again for all you do for the animals! tw, LNPB”

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Last year we shared with you the story of Karina and her dog Naida, who dutifully protected her when she spent nearly two weeks lost in the vast wilderness of Siberia.  Naida only left the girl’s side to find people to come rescue them, and recently a statue was unveiled at the Yakutsk Airport dedicated to their perseverance.

On July 29^th, 2014, Rodion Chikitova embarked on a trip to his native village.  Unbeknownst to him, his four-year-old daughter, Karina, followed him into the woods.  Their puppy, Naida, accompanied her.  Karina’s mother thought Rodion had brought her along, and it wasn’t until they spoke on the phone a few days later that their worst fears were realized.

Crews searched by air and land for five days with no trace of her.  Some of the men on the ground were even forced to fend off a bear.  Chances of finding the girl and pup alive in these conditions and 40-degree weather were becoming increasingly slim.  But after nine days, the dog returned to the girl’s village of Olom.

“Two days before we found Karina her puppy came back home.  That was the moment when our hearts sank, because we thought at least with her dog Karina had chances to survive –  night in Yakutia are cold and some areas have already gone into minus temperatures,” explained Afanasiy Nikolayev, spokesman for the Sakha Republic Rescue Service.

“If she was to hug her puppy, we thought, this would have given her a chance to stay warm during nights and survive.  So when her dog came back we thought ‘that’s it’ – even if she was alive – and chances were slim – now she would have definitely have lost all hopes.  Our hearts truly and deeply sank.”

But the dog didn’t just return – he came to get people to find her.  He led rescuers exactly to her.  Karina had been hiding out in some tall grass, which is why she couldn’t be spotted from above.

“Suddenly with the dog’s help we saw Karina siting in the grass. We rushed to her, got her a little tea and grabbed her to run back to the car and doctors,” Nikolayev said.  “I carried Karina myself to the car, and she was light as a bird. She weighed hardly 10 kilograms (22 pounds) – but amazingly she was fully conscious.”

Miraculously, the scantily-clad girl only suffered from mosquito bites and a few scratches to her feet.  She told rescuers how she survived by eating berries and drinking water from streams.

“Certainly she went with grandmother and parents to the forest, to gather berries. Perhaps this is why she was not afraid of the forest,” said rescuer Albert Semyonov.  “Karina herself is a very strong girl, has a strong-willed character. This probably helped her to survive.”

Karina’s grandmother, Emma, said that Karina’s first words to Naida when she returned were “Why did you leave me?”  But because of this wonderful dog, she survived and was found before anything bad could happen.  She made a complete recovery, and was for the most part unfazed by their sojourn.

Nikolay Chochchasov was inspired by the pair’s stoutheartedness, and created a bronze sculpture in their likenesses.  Karina recently celebrated her sixth birthday, around the same time the effigy was revealed by Yakutsk Airport’s general director, Nikolay Mestnikov.

The post Dog & Girl Who Survived Siberian Wilderness Honored with Statue appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

To see the first story, click here.

After his tours of duty were completed, Howard was brought back to the United States, and was put up for adoption.  He was adopted by former Hoke County Sheriff’s Deputy Deon Fuller.  Things seemed to be going well and Howard seemed to be adjusting to civilian life quite well.

Alex Reimer, a retired veteran with the U.S. Army, was the man responsible for training and serving along side Howard overseas.  The two had formed a very strong bond with one another, and upon retiring, Reimer wanted to have Howard back as a pet, and therapy dog.

At first, Fuller wasn’t having it.  Howard had been adopted fair and square in his opinion, and was refusing to give Howard back to Reimer.  In response, Reimer set up a Facebook page entitled Bring Howard Home (to view it, click here).

Fuller continued to insist that Howard was rightfully his, as he adopted the dog after his retirement from the military.  He straight refused to even entertain the idea of handing Howard over to Reimer.

Yesterday however, Fuller seemed to change his mind and decided that Howard should go back to Reimer. No word on why the change of heart from Fuller happened, but it is suspected that Fuller lost his job over the national attention the case got.

The post UPDATE: Retired Military Dog Reunited with Soldier he Served With appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Pedro Dinis was walking his dog in Carrieres-sur-Seine, which is west of Paris.  His dog began behaving peculiarly, and he noticed a Dogue de Bordeaux buried up to her head.

“Only her head was visible and it was difficult to see given the amount of earth covering her,” he posted on Facebook.

She was surrounded by rocks, which are believed to have been thrown at her after being buried.  She was also attached to a large sack filled with gravel (to keep her from escaping).  Dinis called emergency services, who rushed the badly “shocked and dehydrated” dog to Clinique Vétérinaire V24.

Her former owner will face a two-year prison sentence and a $33,000+ fine when he goes to court next year.

Athena is now living the good life.  She was taken in by Raymonde and Jean-Pierre Delfosse, a couple who runs the rescue group SOS Dogue de Bordeaux.  She can spend the rest of her life there, playing with the other pets and going for walks on the lush grounds.

Her former owner will face a two-year prison sentence and a $33,000+ fine when he goes to court next year.

Athena is now living the good life.  She was taken in by Raymonde and Jean-Pierre Delfosse, a couple who runs the rescue group SOS Dogue de Bordeaux.  She can spend the rest of her life there, playing with the other pets and going for walks on the lush grounds.

The post UPDATE: Dog Found Buried Alive Has Been Adopted appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Back in September, we told you about Tillie and her friend Phoebe.  The pair had gone missing one day on Washington’s Vashon Island. When they were found, Tillie was keeping vigil over her friend who had fallen into on old cistern.  Because of her sheer awesomeness, Tillie has been awarded “Washingtonian of the Day.”

Washington Governor Jay Onslee said, “I saw this story and I just immediately said this is something Washington needs to celebrate.  I grew up with Rin Tin Tin and Lassie, and I never thought I’d meet a real dog that had that type of Hollywood character, but Tillie’s right here.”

As part of the honors bestowed upon Tillie, she was given a written proclamation, and apple pin and a special photo-shoot to commemorate the day.  Her human, B.J. Duft was there as well.

“There was 20 different press there this morning.  The dogs are loving it because they just have to look all cute and be puppies. I’m the one that has to do all the interviews,” said Duft.

Regardless of the “extra work” required by Duft, he is one proud dog papa.  It’s not every day your dog is recognized as a hero by the state!

An article in the Seattle Times said:

“To prep for their time with Inslee, Tillie and Phoebe visited the groomers for a shampoo and trim.  Before wandering into the governor’s office lobby, with its serious-looking collection of portraits of past state leaders, they got to walk around Capitol Lake.

During the ceremony, Inslee had Tillie sit next to him as he urged “everyone in Washington to celebrate the bravery and loyalty of this canine companion.”

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